Alpine have announced the departure of Esteban Ocon from the team at the end of 2024, in the aftermath of his lap one coming together with teammate Pierre Gasly during the Monaco GP. However, the ramifications of Ocon’s incident could have had been more immediate if team boss Bruno Famin had his way.
According to French news outlet L’Equipe (as reported by Motorsport Week), Famin wanted to suspend Ocon at the 2024 Canadian GP. While Ocon spent the weekend on the sidelines, Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan was supposed to fill in for the #31 driver.
However, Famin was restrained from taking such drastic steps by the Enstone-based team’s legal department. L’Equipe wrote that Ocon “could have the deprivation of his right to work noted and demand that he assert his rights and therefore get into his single-seater” by turning up to Montreal with a bailiff.
Doohan IN, Ocon OUT…
…for FP1 in Montreal!
FULL STORY: https://t.co/KVfKxJKgKN#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/dgFlfkv3KH
— Autosport (@autosport) June 5, 2024
On lap one of the 2024 Monaco GP, Ocon tried an audacious move on his teammate, coming out of Portier. This led to Ocon’s left rear tire making contact with Gasly’s right front, sending the former catapulting into the air.
This incident threatened a double DNF for Alpine, but in the end, only Ocon’s A542 had sustained enough damage to the floor to warrant a retirement. Meanwhile, Gasly went on to score his first points for Alpine in 2024 with a tenth-placed finish.
Despite this, the #10 driver slammed his teammate post-race and called the 27-year-old out for his “behavior”. Ocon, on the other hand, came onto his social media handles to issue an apology to the team.
Alpine most likely parted ways with Esteban Ocon after his Monaco GP incident
In the weeks after the incident, Alpine released a statement, announcing that they would not be renewing the #31 driver’s contract after the end of the 2024 season. However, it has been clarified that this decision was not a direct retaliation of the Monaco GP shunt. That said, this could have dire consequences for Ocon’s future in the sport.
Despite having an affiliation with Mercedes, the 27-year-old does not have a shot at the Silver Arrows’ second seat for next year. With both Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso signing long-term deals with their respective teams, Red Bull and Aston Martin can also be ruled out.
This leaves Ocon with only Haas as a possible seat in 2025. And while his career on track has been jeopardized, he’s faced a lot of backlash from his boss, Famin, and fans as well. Famin, in the direct aftermath of the incident, admonished Ocon on French television.
On the other hand, fans swarmed to social media and heavily criticized the actions of the French-born racing driver. This even led to Ocon putting out a statement and calling out all the “abuse” he had received in the wake of the incident.
